MARINE TURTLE CONSERVATION IN THE MEDITERRANEAN
13th UPDATE REPORT AND REVIEW OF NATURE CONSERVATION MEASURES IN PATARA SPA, TURKEY Report to the 29th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention) Prepared by MEDASSET The Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles With grateful thanks to T.A. & A. Cutbush and Dr. P. Yilmaz October 2009
1. INTRODUCTION. Turkey is one of the main Mediterranean countries (with Greece and Cyprus) where major loggerhead nesting grounds are located (Groombridge, 1988). In Turkey, Patara beach is an important nesting site mainly for loggerhead turtle, first recorded during a survey conducted in 1988 (Baran and Kasparek, 1989). The Turkish government on 2 March 1990, declared the area a Specially Protected Area (SPA), and put it under the responsibility of the Authority for Specially Protected Areas (ASPA). In 2000, two green turtle nests were also identified, representing the first record of this species in Patara (Erdogan et al., 2001), the westernmost substantiated site for Chelonia mydas nesting in the Mediterranean (Kasparek et al., 2001). Since 1988, there has been considerable concern for this nesting beach as uncontrolled tourism development may cause the loss or degradation of an important turtle nesting habitat and a unique archaeological site. The Patara issue was first raised by MEDASSET in 1988 and has since been supported by others at the Standing Committee Meetings of the Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats (Bern Convention), where it was subsequently discussed on a regular basis. After the Standing Committee expressed the wish to examine the case of marine turtles in Patara as an urgent case in January 1996 (T-PVS (96) 50), an on-the-spot appraisal was carried out on 21-23 August the same year in order to clarify open questions. The appraisal Report that followed (T-PVS (96) 65) made detailed Recommendations, and the Standing Committee decided in December 1996 to open a file on Patara in order to monitor the effectiveness of conservation measures. MEDASSET carried out a field survey in summer 1998, and subsequently submitted a report to the Standing Committee Meeting of the Bern Convention with detailed specific Recommendations for conservation and management (T-PVS (98) 49). Further updated reports and reviews of Conservation Measures were submitted from 1999 to 2007. In view of the generally positive development it was decided at the 2001 Standing 1